Why Compost?

I started this blog to share my learning from running a worm compost in a small condo in Toronto and over the years it’s evolved to include gardening in a small condo as well.

I often hear people say they want to compost but they live in an apartment or if they had the space they’d compost. You really don’t need much space to compost and if you want to garden in small spaces it’s the best renewable fertilizer.

Here are some of the reasons why I enjoy worm composting:

Less waste and less trips taking out the garbage – I recently learned the average American produces 4 lbs of garbage a day, A DAY!! Between composting and recycling my flatmate and I produce about one small garbage bag (grocery shopping bag) of waste every 5-7 days. Not only does it reduce waste in landfills & saves garbage bags but it also means less trips taking out the garbage, hooray!

Great for gardening – worm castings and worm tea are both excellent fertilizers. It allows me to reuse soil and avoid chemical fertilizers. Plus they’re free and save me trips to the garden center and carrying these items home. When you live in a condo in the heart of the city without a car, these things matter.

Less guilt throwing away spoiled food & unread newspapers – living a busy life in the city means sometimes things go to waste before I get to use it. Knowing that it goes in the compost and will turn to fertilizer makes me feel less guilty about not getting around to it in time.

A bit of nature in the city – ok so maybe decomposing food isn’t your idea of “nature” but managing a bin helps me appreciate the wonders of nature and the impact our waste has on the environment.

Feeling of progress & relaxation – again maybe watching food decompose isn’t your idea of relaxation but I think it’s human nature to want to see progress. Managing a bin, like caring for a plant or pet, provides a sense of progress. I find it both rewarding and relaxing to see that my bin is well cared for and productive.

No waiting for pick-ups – while the city of Toronto does pick-up food waste separately, it’s only once a week and I’m never sure when it is. Keeping a bin means I can put scraps in the bin when I need to instead of remembering and following a pick-up schedule.

Faster than an outdoor compost – I’m not sure if worm composting is the fastest way to compost, but in my experience it is definitely faster and more effective than outdoor composting. When I did have an outdoor compost I remember you had to layer the compost components and turn it regularly. And even then it would take awhile to breakdown, often taking seasons instead of weeks. Plus outdoor composts were more likely to attract rodents and have less nutrients than worm compost.

Great germination bin – ok, I’ve only used this to start avocado plants because the pit is hard and takes awhile to sprout. I’m not sure about other plants because I’ve never tried. Sometimes, I’ll notice things have sprouted but I’ve never tried planting them to figure out what they were. But for avocados alone, I’d say it’s great.

Have I convinced you? If so check out Getting Started to start your worm bin.

If you’ve got more reasons why worm composting is great please add to the list by commenting below. 🙂